Sports
High School Sports

Late-game goal decides final

Alle Arsenault of the Holy Cross Crusaders scored once in the first game and three times in the second as the Crusaders scored two wins on the opening day of the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations field hockey championship in Burlington on Thursday. (Submitted Photo)

Alle Arsenault provided the late-game heroics for the Holy Cross Crusaders in the high school girls field hockey championship game Wednesday at Tindall Field.

Arsenault's second goal of the game in the dying seconds of regulation lifted the Crusaders to a 3-2 win over the Bayridge Blazers in the Kingston Area Secondary Schools Athletic Association final.

Kaeli McDonald scored the other Holy Cross goal. Bayridge was up 2-1 at the half on goals by Katrina Babcock.

The Crusaders, who beat Frontenac in last year's final, have now gone undefeated over two seasons with a 20-0-2 record. Holy Cross will go to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championship, starting Wednesday in Burlington.

"The girls are super excited about OFSAA," Holy Cross coach Tracy Airhart stated in an email. "They played hard against [the Regiopolis-Notre Dame Panthers] in the semis and Bayridge in the final, both of whom had really strong teams.

"The wins were in no way guaranteed, which makes them all the more rewarding."

The Blazers made some history by making it to the final for the first time. Bayridge was 8-2-1 for the season and finished in second place in the eight-team standings.

"It was a pretty special season for us this year," coach Jaime Swaine wrote in an email. "Two of our players -- Chloe Smith and Katrina Babcock -- have been part of our team for five years. In their Grade 9 year we didn't even make the playoffs.

"It is unbelievable how far these girls have come over the years, and the influence that Chloe and Kat have had on our program cannot be understated."

The Blazers will lose seven seniors to graduation. Swaine, however, believes the program's future is bright.

"Our junior players, many of whom are so passionate about the game that they play in the spring and summer, are ready to step up and take the reins," Swaine said.

"Coach [Tina] Schaefer and I are convinced that the future of the Bayridge field hockey program is bright."